Billboards switch dials to WSFM

Oversized portraits of Sydney radio station WSFM’s breakfast presenters Jonesy and Amanda on billboards overlooking Sydney’s freeways has paid off for the duo, who recorded their highest audience share – 9 per cent – in the third ratings survey for the year.

APN
News & Media’s Australian Radio Network marketed Jonesy and Amanda heavily in March and most of the budget was spent on outdoor advertising. The duo’s audience share increased by 1.3 per cent over the previous survey and they were 0.8 per cent behind 2Day’s Kyle and Jackie O, who were on a 9.8 per cent share (up 0.1 per cent).

Alan Jones of Macquarie’s 2GB increased his lead by 1 per cent in the Sydney breakfast market to post a 17.1 per cent share, while the ABC’s Adam Spencer retained second spot at 13.6 per cent (up 1 per cent).

Overall in Sydney, Southern Cross Austereo had mixed results. Its 2Day station posted an 8.8 per cent share (up 0.3 per cent) while 2MMM was down 1.4 per cent to 4.5 per cent. 2MMM’s The Grill Team breakfast show lost 0.5 per cent for a 5.2 per share, and its Merrick and the Highway Patrol drive program was down 1 per cent for a 4.5 per cent share.

“Triple M took a bit of a hit across the workday in Sydney," said
Southern Cross
Austereo’s director of metropolitan radio,
Guy Dobson
. “We’ll take a look at that." However, the Triple M network recorded audience share gains in Melbourne (7.7 per cent share), Brisbane (9.8 per cent) and Adelaide (9.1 per cent).

In Melbourne,
Eddie McGuire
’s The Hot Breakfast team at 3MMM posted a 0.5 per cent rise to an 8.2 per cent share of the breakfast audience. Jon Faine’s morning show at the ABC dropped 2.8 per cent to a 10.2 per cent share, while Neil Mitchell at
Fairfax
’s 3AW added 2.2 per cent to strengthen his Melbourne mornings lead with an 18.4 per cent share.

DMG Radio’s Nova channel, which moved to mainstream music more than a year ago, recorded audience share gains in all capital cities except Melbourne, where its share dipped 0.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent.